About last summer...

Each summer our little ancient market square plays host to various events where we dance, eat and drink with friends, neighbours and strangers.  The arrival of Covid-19 means all such events have been cancelled.  The summer of 2020 will be very different.  Life has been put on hold and were are emerging from our lockdown into an altered summer.

 

I have been documenting concerts in the square for a few years with a vague purpose but no clear view as to how they could develop into a story.  It was whilst in lockdown and working on making negatives for another project I happened to make a negative of one of the 'market square' images and was instantly excited by the new dimensions I saw in it.  So began a revisiting of the series.   By taking colour away I was drawn to the texture in a more dramatic and intimate way.  I saw in the spectral style the tenderness of arms draped around bodies, feet moving to the music, shadows on the old cobbles, closeness, isolation and the fuzziness that mirrors my memories.  Printing on cold pressed 300gsm watercolour paper (the only paper I had available for the first few weeks of lockdown) rather than my usual Photo Matt FineArt enhanced this fuzziness and pixilation and made me question more if the images and memories are real.  

 

Ghosts will haunt the empty space this year.  However, the colour and life will soon return, of this I am sure.